Friday, 26 June 2015

That’s Something

This was supposed to be last night's blog, but I was sidetracked in the garage testing out a design for a book holder. You will be pleased to know that the design seems to have worked just fine. Whether I do one with scroll work remains to be seen. Cheers!

I know I have written about this before, but I can’t
remember how long ago and I am sure that what I write today will be much
different than what was written before. I would be very surprised if I happened
to agree with myself and in fact it would be a pleasant surprise.

I like the early mornings. The world seems fresh and full of
possibilities. Of course one of those possibilities is to go back to sleep or
to have a nap at some future point during the day. I like naps too.

I don’t like early mornings so much that I have ever
willingly greeted the sun as it woke up, but those times were pretty cool.
While we were vacationing on Maui, a couple of the
paddlers went to watch the sun rise from the rim of an extinct volcano. Yes, I
thought the same thing you are thinking. “What a great idea, I should do that!”
However, to be able to do that the ladies had to wake at 2:30 or 3:00 AM
and drive and hour or so to the parking lot half way up the mountain. The real
keeners then walked the rest of the way to the volcano’s rim and greeted the
sun as it rose above the ocean. All very picturesque I am sure.

What really happens is that you stumble out of the warm car
into the very cold, very dark parking lot where you and a few hundred others
shuffle, shivering in the dark up the trail. I think you can see the ocean and
the sun just fine from the parking lot, but if you have gone to the trouble to
get there then you may as well go all the way. The up side of course is that
after you have greeted the sun you have a whole day in the warmth of Hawaii
once you get off of the freezing mountain. Plus, all of the breakfast places
will just be opening up and you will have no trouble finding a table. Oh, there
is always a nap as a possibility for later in the day.

I am not competitive enough to want to be the first one up,
but early enough to be one of the first few thousand is good enough for me. If
you have anywhere to travel, the roads are pretty much empty and if you are
travelling in a westerly direction you won’t be blinded by the early morning
sun.

For most of my working life I was an early riser, half the
year I would get up in the dark and the other half the sun and I would start
our days approximately at the same time. One of the advantages of rising early
is that you don’t have to talk to anyone until your brain unfogs a little.
There is no need to think about anything other than coffee or tea? By the time
you have to interact with people you are alert and focused which amazes those
who are still sweeping the cobwebs from their minds.

Years ago, Louise and I went on a retreat with a lot of
other young people (mid-twenties). In the morning, we woke with the sun because
we had a full day of activities planned and were looking forward to getting at
it. When we went to the kitchen, one of the older women (mid-forties) had been
up, gone for a walk, picked berries, came back and made blueberry syrup for twenty
or so of us to have on the pancakes she made us for breakfast. I was impressed! Louise tells me that it was Saskatoon Berries, not blueberries. Who remembers that shit?

I can’t say that I have ever shown that kind of initiative,
but I will often be on my second or third cup of tea when people start to wake
up. That’s something…